In the News

Joannie Dobbs & Alan Titchenal Around 1900, vitamin D deficiency reached almost epidemic proportions. Here we are, a century later, and vitamin D researchers are again sounding the alarm. The reasons are different and the consequences seemingly less extreme, but the number of people affected is extensive.… continue reading

By reporter Chris Zdeb based on Q and A with registered dietician Loreen Wales. Chris Zdeb, CanWest News Service EDMONTON – Q: Sunblock saves our skin, but does it deprive our bodies of vitamin D at the same time? A: Casually exposing your face and arms to the sun during peak hours for 10 minutes synthesizes 10,000 (IU) international units of vitamin D, which is pretty impressive when you consider the daily recommendations are 200 (IU) for adults 19 to 50 years of age and 400 (IU) for anybody 50-plus.… continue reading

Vitamin D and Sun Exposure The Cancer Society recognises both the very real benefits – and the risks – of sun exposure. Because of this, it is very specific about the hours it advises sun safety. The Society says its sun protection messages are based on the findings of an experts’ group it convened in 2005 which concluded that “a balance is required between avoiding an increased risk of skin cancer and maintaining adequate vitamin D levels”.… continue reading

Achieving that bronze glow for that first trip to the beach is an important goal for some, but sitting under a tanning lamp to get that look poses a greater skin cancer risk to particular people, according to recent research. The International Agency for Research on Cancer says that anyone who sits under a sunlamp drastically increases their risk of the deadliest form of skin cancer, but the risk is especially high for those under 35.… continue reading

Data from a new study on indoor tanning and melanoma actually support the indoor tanning industry’s long-held belief that repeated sunburns – but not indoor tanning in a non-burning fashion – best characterize ultraviolet light’s complex relationship with melanoma. That’s the conclusion that should have been reached and promoted by authors of “The Association of Use of Sunbeds with Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma and other skin cancers: A systematic Review” – a paper published this month in the International Journal of Cancer.… continue reading